In other words, calling someone a slut is a first-degree misdemeanor, per an 1883 law still on the books.
Not that casting aspersions on women (or anyone else) over their private behavior should be OK — and by the way, we really need to move away from the whole slut-shaming thing — but there are plenty of social and (potentially) legal consequences for such behavior.
At one time, some 15 states had similar laws on their books, all of which criminalized making false comments about a woman's behavior.
Democratic Miami-area State Senator Daphne Campbell wants to get Florida's version of the law stricken from the books via Senate Bill 1060, which won unanimous support in a committee Tuesday and has two more stops to go before it hits the senate floor.
The bill also strikes another old-timey law passed in 1915 that outlaws making speaking or making "derogatory statements concerning banks or building and loan associations."
It's unclear what the intent of this law was, though some think it aimed to prevent runs on banks.
Campbell said the bill doesn't aim to make it OK to lie with the intent of harming a person or institution, and that it does aim to remove harsh criminal punishment from the picture, given how there are other methods of recourse.
“We can all agree that defamation or libelous remarks of any kind are serious and have no place in our public discourse,” said Sen. Campbell. “However, in our modern society these penalties are too severe and are an unnecessary government intrusion into an issue that has mostly been handled amongst two private citizens in civil proceedings.”
This article appears in Jan 18-25, 2018.
